Where else can he find his old coach, Phil Jackson, the triangle offense he knows blindfolded, a spotlight as big as Los Angeles, and a team that is still a little short at the guard position. Moreover, because of Kobe and Lamar, any weaknesses he might have due to his age would me masked because the team would not be relying on him to be the hero night in and night out. That's Kobe's job.

Off the court, he could become a team leader and inspiration. On the court, he could actually be a role player using the skills he still has. I know one thing, he would sell tickets all around the country and raise TV ratings. Would MJ, operating at 80% of the player he once was, be an asset to the Lakers? Your thoughts and comments are encouraged - I'm JamFan, and that's my opinion.

Led by Elton Brand, the Clippers beat Kobe Bryant and the Lakers 97-91 on Friday night.

Bryant, making some of his off-balance, high-arcing jumpers but missing more often, scored 36 points on 12-of-35 shooting.

"I think we are relying on me way too much and I am taking way too many shots to try to keep us competitive," Bryant said. "We really have to get back to the basics."

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Kevin Garnett vented about the Timberwolves' flop last season in a TNT interview Thursday, including some edgy, critical comments about VP Kevin McHale. For Timberwolves watchers who have been paying attention, Kevin Garnett's comments in a taped interview that aired before the team's game against Washington on TNT Thursday night were more of the same and largely focused on last season.

Still, Garnett did turn the dial a notch to the right, upping both the volume and the heat. He was a little edgier, a little more direct, with owner Glen Taylor and especially Wolves vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale.

Asked by TNT's Cheryl Miller if Flip Saunders still would be coaching the team had Sam Cassell's and Latrell Sprewell's contract business been dealt with before training camp, Garnett said yes, he believed so.

He added: "But I think it was above Flip. I think Kevin McHale, in his heart, wanted to coach. He wanted to coach, but he didn't want the responsibility of being a coach. He wanted to come in and say, 'Hey, you two run pick-and-roll, you duck in on the weak side, you be ready to shoot.' He wanted to do that, but he didn't want to manage those guys. He didn't want to manage those egos. He wanted to maybe tell Flip what to do."

McHale, when he fired Saunders and took over as coach on Feb. 12, said he did not want to coach but didn't want to stick one of Saunders' assistants in a bad situation. The Wolves were 25-26 at the time and went 19-12 under McHale, missing the playoffs anyway.

"If I wanted to coach, I'd be coaching right now," McHale said after the Wolves' 109-98 victory over the Wizards. "I took the responsibility of the team last year. The way we were playing, I didn't think it was fair to put it on anybody else, the assistant coaches. ... I did assume responsibility. But I did not want to coach."

Garnett, who always has handled his contract talks in the offseason, was critical of management in the interview for failing to do that with Cassell and Sprewell, both of whom were seeking contract extensions. "It should have been done in the summertime so when September got here, it was all about basketball," he said. "We're not going to re-sign you, we're going to re-sign you, OK, cool, end of discussion. ... The dialogue was just trashy. ... That set the tone for the whole year."

He also said too many people, inside and outside the organization, pointed fingers of blame for the most disappointing season in franchise history -- the Wolves began with ambitions of reaching the NBA Finals -- and one of the league's biggest flops in 2004-05.

"No one person looked themself in the mirror," he said.

And he repeated a sentiment he has expressed to reporters at least twice since Media Day: "It starts from the top, Glen Taylor and Kevin McHale. At the end of the day, they're going to do what they're going to anyway."

After the game, Garnett stood by his comments. "The questions she was asking me were for me being able to be a Monday quarterback, sort of sitting back and assessing things like I'd seen it," he said. "I didn't feel I was out of line with anything or untruthful with anything. I didn't feel like I disrespected anybody."

Taylor said he was not surprised by anything Garnett said. "This last summer and the year before, he's shared all that," Taylor said. "That's just the way he talks. Very emotional, and he says what he believes."

Asked about his lines of communication with the franchise's star, Taylor said, "They're open with me."

At halftime, TNT analysts and former players Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith were critical of the Wolves' play so far, with Barkley stating that the team should trade Garnett. "They can get some great players for him and some good draft picks," Barkley said. "They've got to start thinking about the future at some point."

Taylor, however, said Garnett has not sought a trade. "He has never, ever. He has only said the opposite of that," the owner said.

"This time, they've made a commitment. It's good to see. It's good for the NBA, it's good for Los Angeles, and people that have been Clipper fans. I know they're happy with it."

Sensing the Clippers were on the rise, Laker All-Star guard Kobe Bryant said he strongly considered signing with them as a free agent before last season. Bryant accepted a seven-year, $136.4-million deal to remain with the Lakers.

"After I signed with the Lakers, I said that the Clippers are going to be turning things around," Bryant said. "That's just the impression I got. That's what they told me, and that's the imagery I had from them.

"It just seemed like they were ready to take the next step, and the owner was committed to making it happen. So it's really not surprising to me that they went out and made the acquisitions that they did."

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KG is 29 years old and in his prime. Last year he finished with the highest efficiency rating in the NBA at 33 EFF. If Minnesota is in rebuilding mode, by the time they get there, KG's dream might have faded. For him the time is now. So the speculation is out there he could ask for a trade. But he would be able to control where he goes.

Does that road lead him to LA? Over the summer he purchased a home in Malibu. He visited Laker summer league games. Worked out with Kobe. He talked. There were rumored comments he made to friends in Malibu about his concern over Minnesota's lack of putting together a chamionship level team now.

So there was speculation even this summer that KG was indeed hinting about coming to the Lakers. But the Lake Show has built there entire strategy around bringing in a superstar 2 years from now. Kobe would be 29 then, but KG would be 31. KG might not be willing to wait. Its not just being 31, its having to toil 2 more years with a team that is not going to get there.

But the Lakers probably would have already tried to trade for him if they were capable and if KG and the Timberwolves were willing. The problem is that Kobe is not going anywhere, so the only bargaining chip they have is Lamar. Package that with a 1st round draft pick, a young player with promise, and the expiring contract of Slava and you might have a deal.

Or, since KG does have a home here, maybe the destination is not the Lakers at all. Maybe its the Clippers. Most pundits believe that they are the best team in LA. KG has a close friend, Sam Cassell whispering in his ear. The Clippers could trade Elton Brand or Corey Maggette and a 1st round pick and be a much stronger and deeper team than the Lakers would be with Odom gone. With the Lakers it would be Kobe and KG with little help after that. With the Clippers it would be KG, Cassell, Mobley, Livingston, Wilcox, Kaman, and either Brand or Maggette. Some would think KG would have a better chance of a ring there than at the Lakers with a depleted lineup. 2 years ago the Lakers failed with 4 hall of famers.

I think that KG would want a major market that LA provides. It's the biggest stage in the NBA. Warm weather, sandy beaches, sunsets over Malibu, a possible ring........to much to pass up. The problem is how he gets here and for which LA team he plays. JamFan

"It was designed for him to catch the ball and find what he could find available in penetrating or attacking the defense," Coach Phil Jackson said. "I have to give him the credit that he can shoot that shot. I have to allow his judgment that he felt like he could do that at that time.

"I wanted him to penetrate and Smush [Parker] was over in the other corner at the three-point line. We thought Iverson would come back and jump on the play and Smush would be open, but he took what he thought he could get."

Which, it turned out, was no closer than close.

"I was going to read the defense and see if I had an open look," Bryant said. "My balance was off, though. I was aiming left when I shot it. Those are the type of shots where you just kick yourself because you know that if you square up and just get your balance, you'll knock it down. It just didn't happen for us."

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"We got into a position to get back in the game, but we had a hard time," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "They played good defense. (Trenton) Hassell did a good job on (Kobe). They played good team defense and gave him (Hassell) help with Kobe when he needed it."

"Great 1-on-1 defense will never stop a top scorer (like Bryant)," Garnett said. "You've got to give a team effort and everyone has to be on the same page."

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The big Laker acquisition over the summer, Brown has been small in the stat department, averaging six points and 4.8 rebounds in playing time that has been sometimes choppy because of foul trouble.

"He has to get out there and play on the floor for 30, 35 minutes so it feels like he's caught it," Coach Phil Jackson said. "Then everything's going to kind of fall in place for him…. The players still want to believe in him. I think that's key, that they still trust him and think that he's going to have a breakout game."

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Hawks coach Mike Woodson said his team didn't respond.

``It's like we were in quicksand,'' he said. ``When you give up 20-plus layups, it kind of takes the starch out of you.''

Lakers guard Smush Parker continued his strong start with 21 points, 13 in the third quarter. Parker has scored 20 or more points in three of the Lakers' four games.

``He can play,'' Bryant said of Parker. ``I think he's been a surprise to people. Now I don't think he's so much a surprise anymore.''

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